rest

last summer, i was introduced to the idea of scheduling in time for "rest". this was during my missions trip in Japan last summer. the idea seemed absurb at first, because our trip was only 6 weeks long. i was expecting to spend as much time as possible doing ministry. but we were told that monday was our day of rest, that we weren't supposed to do any "ministry" work that day.

but as the trip continued, we got busier and busier. and as the days got longer and longer, and we had more and more work to do, i realized why we had a day of rest. we needed it.

it felt good to get some extra sleep (or catch up sleep) that day. i had the luxury of doing my quiet time unrushed, at my own pace. i had a chance to rest my mind, and not be thinking of what i needed to do all the time. i had time to do laundry or to cook. i had time to read, time to just sit there and think. there was time to chat with my friends. the day just refreshed me, and allowed me to be ready for another 6 days of hard work.

the idea is very biblical. God took a day of rest after 6 days of creating. He set an example for his people to follow. i think the point isn't so much which day to rest, but to have that time to rest.

since then, i've incorporated this idea of rest into my normal life. each week, i try my best to schedule in an evening to "rest". tonight was that night, and i'm grateful for it.

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
~Genesis 2:2-3~